Hi, can anyone help me figure out why when i create or use a material made with v-ray, the material will render correctly when i render but in the model it shows up as a map of v-ray logos. Is there something i can do to at least have it show up a s solid color... the logo map thing is very detracting when i am modeling... and i would really rather have a representation of at least the color of the actual material... see images below for example of what is happening... This only happens sometimes not every time but it is driving me crazy. Thanks for your help.

Hey y'all, i am getting ready to buy a new gaming laptop so that i can build and render my models faster! I have a budget of up to 1500. There are a lot of great options out there. It appears at this price range i will need to choose between a better dedicated graphics card (discrete), or more ram. Also I am not sure what a dual core means but that sounds like it is also important. So my question is, which is more important? More ram or a better graphics card. And what makes a better graphics card (the ram or the actual card)?

Also if someone could the difference between processors for my purposes that would be super helpful.

I am going to be rendering with Vray so i guess that is important because some programs are designed to work off of just ram while others take advantage of the dedicated graphics card from what i understand. So does anyone know if Vray will perform better with a better dedicated graphics card or a lot more ram?

Things i defiantly need a Solid state drive either 512 or a hybrid drive with 1 tb of storage and a smaller ssd for ruining my programs. Thoughts on the hybrid drives? 17" Screen.

Thank you so much! Ya that is what i was wondering.... i didn't see a simple wall option... lots of cool things... but not a simple wall. It really isn't that hard to create walls but the offsets etc... can get tedious.... I love Profile builder! It is fantastic as you say... i have been out of the game for a couple of years... so i have to set up all my plugins etc... from scratch... i plan to install profile builder for sure! No issues between it and insta window right? Thanks so much for your help... since instant wall didn't have a trial i didn't want to purchase it and then find out it didn't do the one thing i want it do do... i will certainly be on the lookout for a plugin that does this, if you run across anything please let me know!

@dpaul said:

Vali's plugins are simply world-class, and as you say, the annual subscription is not very much. It is the
one subscription I do not mind paying for every year. The benefits for daily use are significant.

As I understand it, the wall tool is only for exterior use as shown by the illustrations for that plugin, not for residential or commercial wall building. I would check with Mr. Vali directly about the wall tool for how you want to use it to see if it is possible.

That question aside, the plugins, are superb, and the one I use the most, the WINDOW & DOOR tool is simply outstanding. Better than even the win/door tools in Archicad or Vectorworks.

You cannot go wrong with this series of tools in your Sketchup quiver.

PS. For the quick design of walls (and the ability to edit your rooms, etc.) DIBAC is very good, and as an interior designer, do not forget to purchase (if you have not done so already) CABMAKER PRO. Also of the same depth and sophistication to Vali's plugins.

Thanks so much for the replay,I bought windows and doors, i was wondering if the walls one is good for quick walls... i see that it can create super detailed things like collinades arches etc... but i could not find anything that shows quick simple wall creation.. I like the idea of beaing able to draw out a floor plan and have the walls automatically created with thickness height , and other details... then doping in doors and windows in. I know creating simple walls in sketchup isnt really hard but it would be cool to simplify it even further... is this a feature with the walls do you know? I really don't think i need all the other detailed things at this time... so i am not sure ei need the plugin if it is easier for me just to create the walls myself... since i really just need basic walls... now if i can create walls with crown molding, baseboard details etc... that would be well worth it.. but i could not find a tutorial on something this simple... if you know the answer that would be great!

Here is the link to vali architects. It appears to be a suite of architectural elements that you need to subscribe to yearly... you can choose individual elements like walls, or doors or you can choose the entire sweet which includes landscape etc... Looks pretty cool and as an interior designer, i like the idea of an easy way to create the framework of the house so i can focus on the interior. Anyone use this and what are your thoughts? I don't really like the idea of a yearly subscription but it isn't that much... just wanted to know if it has been around a while and if it will be around a while, if i am going to invest time and money in it an "subscribe" https://valiarchitects.com/sketchup_scripts

Anyone tried insta walls or insta doors?

Thanks! That is what I was looking for. Super helpful. Looks like the new warehouse and 2014 have a lot to offer!

Hey, i have not used sketchup for a month or two... i am using sketchup 2013, I just went to look for something in the warehouse and got a weird screen. Anyone know what is up with the new look and if there are some new benefits or if there is a tutorial or something? Thanks.

Thanks, Vray has added GPU and RT support in the new beta release... From what i can gather, my computers graphic card is a GPU? And does support GPU Rendering... but I have not really seen a speedup of rendering with it.. but i have not really tried it much yet... So you are saying that I can get another desktop and connect it to my network then send something to render on it while i continue to work on my other computer? I like to model on my laptop so maybe getting an even faster desktop for Rendering would be great. I will look into farm rendering, Thanks.

Thanks, I have attached an image of my current computer specks. It is a pretty fast and nice computer...I'm not even sure I am using it to its fullest capabilities...

You are right, I dont have 20k to 100k lying around! I spent 2k on my current computer... I would like to explore some other options like render nodes etc... but I am not sure what those are? Is it like render farm? If so what is render farm? I would think it is some sort of way to render on another "system" or area of the computer so that I could continue to work on my model while rendering.... Not sure if the new Vray has something like this built in or not?

Thanks!

Hi all, I am doing a lot more renderings for my clients lately and I am wondering about investing in an even faster computer than i have now... Currently I have a Asus Gaming Machine with a separate graphics card(i think it is 3 gigs) and 16 gigs of ram... I would be willing to invest in a desktop computer that I could render faster on if it was worth the investment and it would yield the results I am looking for....

Anyone have any ideas or input on this subject? I am using V-ray render and although it is super fast compared to some of the others it is still relatively slow especially with the amount of renderings I need to be doing...

So what is the fastest computer I can get and what should i be looking for?

Thanks!

@valerostudio said:

I cam across this one, but for some reason it no longer works in 2013. Any ideas why?

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=c4784862eff4a3e9de650492e45fb14f&prevstart=0

You know something, I think that is one of my problems... I am working in 13 and a lot of the components are not working correctly! So they seem like they are not very good when in fact they were probably great in 08... Hmmmm wonder why the Sketchup people did not make sure the components would still function correctly? Anyone know who to report this to? Maybe they can fix it????

I think i had that same window component in my model and it says that it is scalable but when i try to scale it it just resets to the original size and moves it over... But when I click on the component attributes it clearly says that it is scalable... also i have noticed that several of the components say that they have interact functions but I don't get the hand when I hover over the component like I should when something is interactive.....

Hey does anyone know where i can find a bunch of pre-made dynamic components? I see there are some on skethcup Warehouse, but i am having a hard time finding dynamic components specifically ( I have tried the advanced search and that does narrow it down but there just arent that many choices and the ones that are there are hit or miss, mostly miss)

I would be willing to pay for a library of really good dynamic components if someone has made one? Anyone have an idea where I can find great dynamic components, ie, wainscoting, kitchen cabinets and other architectural components and details...

Thanks!

I am attaching a screen shot of Render window using a full render. I am also attaching a render window using RT CUDA GPU, ....I waited about a minute and this was as far as it got.... notice the walls are black and nothing really looks the same as the full render. I am also attaching an image of RT Using CPU... this one is much closer to the full render using Render button. I got a similar Result using Open GPU as I Got using CUDA GPU... I am also attaching a screenshot of my system...

Maybe someone over at Vray can take a look at this and tell me what is going on? Not sure what I am doing wrong or what I should expect with RT but it seems a lot slower than what I saw on the webinar the other day... and the GPU is not looking right?

I am using 1.6 23412 which is one of the latest nightly builds.... so...

Thanks, loving the new Vray,

@aceshigh said:

so its working since what version? And is it automatic detection or the user has to select GPU rendering? (I suppose it does not support ALL features of CPU rendering?)

Available for final rendering or only for RT?

It is in the Beta version so it has not been released yet. In the options under RT you have to choose GPU....

I am not sure about what it supports....

@andybot said:

You do need to have OpenCl or CUDA (respectively) installed for GPU rendering to work, otherwise it defaults to CPU rendering (at least based on my limited experience testing it out.)

Ok, so can you tell me what an OpenC1 or CUDA is?

THanks!

@holmes1977 said:

Hi all, been away from Vray testing because of heavy work load and haven't installed the latest beta. Did I miss something big, does Vray 1.6 use GPU to RT render?

I have the same laptop. Your GPU is the GeForce GTX 670M which is pretty fast considering it fits into a laptop. Like I said above I dont know if Vray 1.6 uses GPU's, but using the GTX670M with Thea Render RT works very well. So your GPU is fine

Yes, Vray 1.6 is using GPU to RT! I have not been able to get it to work properly yet... but they are still in Beta, they are planning on releasing the full version very soon.

Thanks for clarifying about my computer! I was thinking I was going to need to get a separate GPU, but it sounds like you are saying my computer has a GPU already!!! Makes sense, this computer is a beast!

you can download the Beta from their website.... There are some pretty cool new features! Looking forward to seeing the full power of RT.

@cotty said:

You can use your flat face and the plugin JPP (joint push pull) to add some thickness. Make shure to choose the thickening option (TAB key for options)...

[attachment=0:142ekkcf]<!-- ia0 -->jpp_vase.jpg<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:142ekkcf]

Fantastic! Thanks! I have had Joint push Pull installed for a while now and have not really used it until just now! Now it will be my best friend!!!! Also, i did not know about the Tab button for options.. is that true for all of Fredo's plugins?

a solid is a watertight volume (for instance- a sphere or a box with no holes in it)..

draw a box and group it then look at entity info.. it will list the object as a Solid Group.
now erase one of the box's faces and check entity info.. it will no longer be a solid.

likewise, a simple plane is not a solid because it has no volume.. that's why the solid tools were failing in this case.[/quote]

Brilliant! thanks! I get it now... The light just went on with regards to the "solid" tools. THanks!

Ok i think i got it... see attached... After my last post i realized all that i needed to do was explode both objects and then erase until i got the profile i wanted....

The I just use the follow me tool... is there something extra special about the TIG's tool? I could not find it on either plugin store... for 13 so I am assuming it is not out yet for 13?